Testosterone solution improves sexual drive in hypogonadism

Posted on November 20, 2018 by David Alexander

Normal testosterone levels were restored and sexual drive improved with once-daily testosterone solution 2% for 12 weeks in men with hypogonadism, according to study results.

Researchers wrote that energy levels were improved on the Hypogonadism Energy Diary.

Gerald Brock, MD, FRCSC, a professor of medicine at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and colleagues evaluated 715 men aged 18 years and older with total testosterone less than 300 ng/dL and at least one symptom of testosterone deficiency from 98 sites in Argentina, Canada, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Italy, South Korea, Puerto Rico and the United States. Participants were randomly assigned to placebo or 60 mg topical testosterone solution 2%. Researchers sought to determine the effect of testosterone treatment on total testosterone level, sex drive and energy level. Total serum testosterone was measured at 2, 6 and 12 weeks. Testosterone measurement at 12 weeks was taken from 287 participants assigned placebo and 297 assigned testosterone.

Seventy-three percent of the testosterone group was within the normal range at week 12 compared with 15% of the placebo group (P < .001).
Compared with the placebo groups, the testosterone group had improvements in Sexual Arousal, Interest and Drive scale (SAID; P < .001), and SAID scale was more improved at weeks 4 and 12 (P < .005). In a subset of participants with low energy at baseline, Hypogonadism Energy Diary (HED) scores were improved among the testosterone group compared with the placebo group (P = .02); however, the improvement did not reach the statistical significance level of P < .01. HED scores were improved at week 4 (P < .001) but not week 12 (P < .07) in the testosterone group compared with placebo.
There were no reported cardiovascular events, prostatic cancers or venous thromboembolic events in the testosterone group. Compared with placebo, hematocrit was increased in the testosterone group (P = .04).
“Testosterone solution 2% for 12 weeks was efficacious in restoring normal testosterone levels and improving sexual drive in hypogonadal men,” the researchers wrote. “Improvements in energy levels were observed on HED and on the PGI-I energy domain, but HED improvements did not reach the prespecified level of significance. ... Testosterone solution demonstrated a favorable safety profile and no new safety signals were evident.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: Brock reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.